Corporate titans in Tennessee are joining forces…Wright Medical Group, Inc. and BioMimetic Therapeutics, Inc. have entered into an agreement for a business combination of Wright and BioMimetic. The transaction will combine BioMimetic’s breakthrough biologics platform and pipeline with Wright’s established sales force and product portfolio, to further accelerate growth opportunities in Wright’s extremities business.
In the November 19, 2012 news release, Robert Palmisano, president and chief executive officer of Wright, commented, “We believe this transaction will significantly accelerate the continued transformation of our business as well as our strategy of building a world-class biologics platform and growing our foot and ankle business at well above market growth rates. BioMimetic’s products complement our existing biologics product portfolio, and, if approved by the FDA as we expect, Augment Bone Graft will provide us with a unique solution for the U.S. hindfoot and ankle fusion market that leverages the distribution capabilities of Wright’s dedicated foot and ankle sales organization and our physician training capabilities.”
Dr. Samuel Lynch, president and chief executive officer of BioMimetic Therapeutics, added, “BioMimetic is delighted to partner with a company that shares our commitment to building a world-class biologics platform. We believe that Augment Bone Graft will become an important new therapeutics option to improve patient outcomes in hindfoot and ankle fusion procedures, and that Wright Medical with its leadership position in the foot and ankle market is the ideal partner to accelerate the rapid adoption of our products around the world.”
Kearstin Patterson, director of corporate communications for BioMimetic, told OTW,
“We will work towards closing the transaction, which will require filing an S-4 registration, SEC review and a vote from BioMimetic shareholders. We anticipate the close will occur during the first quarter of 2013. Until then, Wright Medical and BioMimetic will remain separate companies. From an operational standpoint, it is business as usual. It is important that the BioMimetic team remains focused on the primary goal of gaining U.S. Augment Bone Graft approval and the Wright team remains focused on servicing its existing customers. Post close of the transaction, the new entity will continue to work toward obtaining U.S. FDA approval of Augment Bone Graft, which will remain the top priority, while strategically developing and gaining other approvals for the technology. We believe this transaction fits perfectly with Wright’s strategy to grow its foot and ankle business and provides future opportunities in both bone repair and soft tissue applications that can help build Wright’s biologics business into a high-growth operation with continued growth for years to come.”
